Ukrainian Healthcare Professionals’ Experiences During Operation Gunpowder: Implications for Increasing and Enhancing Training Partnerships

Abstract

Because of the diverse backgrounds of their healthcare professionals, Ukrainian military medicine needs expanded and enhanced military medical training to increase their readiness in the war against Russia. During March 2023, eight Ukrainian healthcare professionals participated in Operation Gunpowder, a high-fidelity prolonged casualty care simulation conducted by the USU as a part of its Military Unique Curriculum. In order to evaluate their experiences, we interviewed each healthcare professional and analyzed the data to determine common themes. The participants first described the challenges of operational medicine in Ukraine. They then described the benefits of simulation training such as learning how to navigate a resource-limited operational environment, learning prolonged casualty care, and enhancing leadership and teamwork. Finally, they discussed how they planned to implement training such as Operation Gunpowder in Ukraine in order to increase force readiness. After experiencing the prolonged casualty care simulation training, the Ukrainian participants believed Operation Gunpowder to be a valuable training tool due to its ability to help them overcome the current challenges they are facing in their war against Russia. They described how they would integrate similar training in Ukraine, and follow-up correspondence revealed the success of these efforts. Other universities and institutions are likewise called to use their knowledge and resources to help train Ukrainian health professionals using simulation-based training or other education modalities.